Birthday boy's kind gesture
Aidan and his aunt Rose Cusack cutting the cake.
Wednesday March 10 2010
KIND – hearted Lobinstown man Aidan Weldon enjoyed a unique 50th birthday party at the Simonstown GAA centre recently.
Upwards on 400 family and friends came to celebrate the half century with the Tara Mines electrician.
There was the cake, the food, the drink, the music and the craic but Aidan decided that there should be no presents and instead donations on the night would go to support the Niall Mellon Township Trust, something he has worked untiringly for over the past number of years.
'On the night we collected € 6,000 and there are still donations coming in, it was just an astonishing amount of money,' a delighted Aidan said.
'My nephew Kieran and myself will be back in South Africa this November with the Niall Mellon team for the latest building project.
'I want to thank everyone who turned out to support us and indeed everyone who continues to support us.'
It will be Aidan's fourth Niall Mellon trip. Last year he was involved in the construction of 200 low-cost homes at the Wallacedene Township near Capetown.
Wallacedene was a sprawling shanty town of over 5,000 shacks cramped on top of each other without electricity or running water.
As well as showing a film of last year's Niall Mellon trip Aidan also set up a shack outside the Simonstown Pavilion to give people a greater understanding of the conditions people in the underdeveloped world live in.
Aidan would also like to thank caterer Seamus Connolly, The Navan Swing Band, John Walsh Disco, Henry Byrne for the lighting, Caffrey Home Baking Ardee, Slane Print and his Tara Mines work mates.
- Sean WALL
